The UAE made history on Monday, 20th July, at 1.58am UAE Time (5.58am Singapore Time) when the nation launched its first mission to Mars from Japan. A mission called Hope, the Arab region's first attempt to go interplanetary, is on its way to Mars.
The Red Planet’s atmosphere has been tenuous for eons and is now dominated by carbon dioxide, but it was once much plusher and kept the planet's water in place. For decades, global scientists have been trying to investigate how that change took place to foresee any similar trajectory that the Earth might be following. The UAE Hope Mars probe will contribute significant information and data towards achieving this objective.
In addition, the mission is a big push for the UAE as it strives to move away from its reliance on oil. Omran Sharaf, Hope Project Manager said “...it's about the future of our economy. It's about the post-oil economy. (We) wanted to inspire the young generation to go into STEM and use this mission as a catalyst to cause disruptive change and shifts in multiple sectors.”
The UAESBC congratulates the UAE leadership and every Emirati for this big step towards reinforcing UAE's position in international space exploration.